Chakula!

I travel to experience new cultures and learn new things. I live to eat. It’s only fitting that I dedicate a full post to Tanzanian food.

Local food to the Kilimanjaro Region is fairly basic but overall delicious. Many Tanzanians are still subsistence farmers, so they eat what they can grow or sometimes trade with neighbors. Residents of Moshi are less likely to have farming as their main job, so there are lots of local restaurants and single women over a fire on the street that serve traditional lunch and dinners for a few dollars a plate.

Makande- beans with corn cooked in coconut milk.
Served with rice and greens.

We volunteers are fortunate to have a cook, Margaret, who makes us authentic Tanzanian food six nights a week for dinner. She makes traditional Tanzanian food, but vegetarian! (On a side note, it hasn’t been a problem being a vegetarian here at all. Meat is not found at every meal because it is expensive, and word from other volunteers is that the quality is not that great.) Here are some of the staples Margaret has made us:

Chapati- a mix between a flour tortilla and naan bread. Its fried on the stove and often eaten for breakfast with tea.

Ugali- corn mush. Corn is grown even in front lawns in Moshi neighborhoods. Instead of eating it on the cob, most Tanzanians make corn flour and cook it with water to make Ugali. This is easier and cheaper than rice and is usually eaten with beans or vegetables. Pictured here with greens and squash in a marsala sauce. 

Samaki- fried fish. This is one of the most common protein sources. The fish come from nearby lakes and are fried pretty much as is. To eat it, you pull the meat off the bones with your hands. It’s served with rice or fries and sells for about $4 lunch. Four students from last year’s class have just opened their own restaurant. We go there a few times a week for the Samaki. (I usually break the head off before I dive in.)

Like any culture, Tanzanian food has been influenced by many other places. In Moshi, the most dominate transplant culture is Indian. Nearly every restaurant in town is an Indian Restaurant. (As a vegetarian, I scored again!) I’ve tried more new Indian dishes here than I ever have at home and the quality is usually excellent. You can also find pizza at nearly every restaurant. Yes, even the Indian places. One of our favorite places is called Indo-Italiano. You guessed it; it has both Italian and Indian menus.

Avocadoes, Mangoes, and bananas are in abundance. Coffee and tea are grown locally. Dairy is found here but most Tanzanians do not have refrigerators, so cheese and yogurt are not common in most diets. Related to this, I have yet to see a Tanzanian enjoy cold water. They drink water at room temperature which usually means about 85 degrees. They think the Wazungu (Westerners) are crazy for liking ice water and some even believe it makes you sick. I’ve made multiple Tanzanian friends laugh out loud when I ask for an iced tea!

Moshi is a city with a steady flow of Eastern and Western influences but is small enough to retain its local “flava” as they say. Tonight we are having one of my favorite dishes—potato and chickpea curry with chapati. A delicious hybrid.